Beer: Reviews & Ratings

A Top 10% Porter for sure, although not as silky smooth as its Anchor Brewery counterpart. Anunmistakable malty-chocolate bite soaks through the membranes in your mouth leaving a strong yet pleasant aftertaste. Pitch-black in appearance although not much of a head and lacing (at least not from the bottle I poured). (318 characters)

M: 4.75 - Not too thin like some porters I have had. This seems like the perfect medium between a porter and a stout. There's a creaminess to it that you don't get with other porters, but not as "thick" as some of the stouts. Very smooth, very drinkable, very nice.

O: 4.62 - This is the best porter I've had to date. Thank god Founders distributes to Arkansas - they make some awesome stuff. Just as the label states, this is dark, rich and sexy. Very sexy. The Kate Upton of porters. (975 characters)

Holy freaking crap, I get to try this courtesy of the former BeerKangaroo and currently HighDesertDrinker (I so want to meet this highdesertdrinker guy)

This was poured into a pint glass.The appearance was mainly a dark brown close to black color with a one finger white to off white foamy head that dissipated within a minute and leaving a slight spider web slim lacing here and there.The smell was mainly roasty with a fine black coffee sort of eloquently aromatic fine toothed sort of way.The taste was roasty and just a tad of sweet with a fine toothed coffee toned aftertaste and finish.The mouthfeel was mainly smooth, somewhat roasty and refined in the chocolate/maybe more or less sort of cocoa sort of way.Overall, I really like this porter, so glad I finally got to try a Founders brew courtesy of a few peeps, but hey I'm not arguing as I have no idea if I'll ever get to try this again. So good and so would love to have again. (945 characters)

Appearance: Dark, heavy, and thick when poured. Looks beautiful with a dark, creamy head. Smell: Smells of malt, some coffee, and oats. Taste: Very strong coffee flavors. Notes of malt and oatmeal. Quite dark and creamy. Overall, very pleasant. As a stout fan, this beer is a very solid choice. Compare to Sierra Nevada Stout. Very much enjoy this beer, but it was not a standout compared to some of my favorites. (416 characters)

Appearance: No head whatsoever. Pitch black.Smell: Coffee, roasted malts, wood, dark fruit and a hint of floral.Taste: Roasted malts up front, coffee, and walnuts/pecans, chocolate on the finish.Mouthfeel: Lively but thick despite the lack of carbonation.Overall: Not bad. (278 characters)

Holy cannoli ravioli! This beer is a blast of complex flavors. What I get from it is roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, and hops.

The appearance of this beer is outstanding. Pitch black! The smell is quite good for this style, and the taste is well balanced.

This isn't my type of beer. The people that I can imagine loving this beer are coffee drinkers, smokers, lumberjacks, people with thick beards, and unicyclists. This is the sort of beer you'd drink with a cigarette in the other hand , a donut (it would probably pair well with certain desserts), or an axe (psychopaths are not welcome to have this drink with an axe. no sir.)

I certainly could not drink more than one of these. It is so strong with its taste/flavor that I can still taste the roasted coffee even minutes after my last sip. Even Juan Valdez would think this coffee is strong.

This is certainly interesting! I haven't had a lot of porters but I can't imagine there being one better than this. Again, this isn't my style and I can't say that I really enjoy this beer, but you have to respect greatness. This beer is expertly crafted! If you are into the sort of flavor profiles listed above, this might be your new favorite drink! Coffee that gets you drunk. haha. (1,240 characters)

This has clearly become my favorite porter over the past few years. The first time I had this porter was from a bottle and I fell in love instantly.

When I learned that my local distributor carried 1/4 barrels all year long I switched to the porter on tap. What a wonderful difference...on tap it is very creamy, smooth, and tasty with a thick, foamy head that leaves you with a beer mustache. Wonderful blend of coffee and chocolate hits you right away with a noticeable hop kick on the back end.

Founder's hits another home run with this delicious brew. You will not be disappointed! (587 characters)

This is one great beer! I will purchase this brew often. The color and taste are something that I remember from drinking this style of beer in the past. you can find it in some but not all beer stores in NJ. I look forward to drinking the other founders beer. (259 characters)

This tastes exactly like coffee to me. That isn't a bad thing, I am just not picking up anything else. Add cream & sugar & I'd be having this with my breakfast tomorrow morning. Maybe leave out the cream and make an ice out of that.

Overall, a good porter & a really good beer - but there are better for the money IMHO. (320 characters)

A: OK, nothing special, though. The beer is dark and completely opaque; no light gets through. The lacing is adequate. The only problem I had with this beer was that the head was practically nonexistent.

S: I love it! Obvious presence of lactose sugar and milk. There's also a significant presence of burnt malt, and this imparts a mild coffee smell. No hops are apparent.

T: Very good. Great roasted coffee taste. The heavily-kilned malt imparts a coffee flavor, but it isn't as overbearing as in other stouts. The presence of lactose sugar also softens the burnt malt somewhat. In conclusion, while there's a significant presence of burnt malt, the harshness is mitigated by the presence of lactose sugar.

M: Nice. Thick and creamy. It glides down the throat with little resistance.

O: A very pleasant, well-balanced porter. The coffee taste isn't overbearingly bitter owing to the milkiness imparted by the lactose. Will try again. (1,004 characters)

T - Pretty good. Taste like a good dark chocolate mixed with roasted...something. I don't want to say roasted nut again but pretty much. Starts off as a burst of dark chocolate and finishes nice and bitter. Burnt dark chocolate is the best way I can describe it.

M - Not much to say. Medium bodied, average carbonation. Pretty drinkable.

O - Overall this is a good porter. A tad bit too bitter for my liking, but still real good. Reminds me very much of Guinness Extra Stout. (690 characters)

Pours black with a nice mocha head. Aroma is a touch smokey, extremely roasty giving offf some nice chocolate and coffee tones. Flavor is a touch smokey as well, wonderfully roasty with some great dark chocolate and coffee and a touch of char, and a nice intrusion of some bitterness from some hops in the finish. A creamy, medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, an absolutely fantastic porter here. Just as good, just different, from my favorite porter, Odell's Cutthroat Porter. Loved it, will absolutely be drinking lots more of this one. (536 characters)

black as night with a reddish brown head. smells like scotch, but also some black licorice and mild sweetness. the carbonation is really nice, more refreshing than most porters, not too sticky or too sweet. this is great. some woody flavors subtle grape and root beer as well. (276 characters)

I wanted to try on of Founder's favorite brews, their well known Porter.

A - Deep dark brown color basically black. Sort of cloudy with some dark particles settling out after about 5 minutes (could be batch specific). Brown head with medium staying power and large bubbles. Medium to light lacing.

S - Strong porter aroma with caramel/chocolate/roasty/malty tones. The chocolate and malty seem to mix seamlessly with the roasted character.

T - This beer has a taste spot on with the smell. All of the dark beer flavors come together to form a well mixed beer that has everything you would want in a porter. The beer is definitely sweeter than a stout but still has the roasted bitterness that balances nicely. The complexity and full flavored nature make this a good 1 or 2 beer but probably not an all day kind of beer.. M - High mouth-feel almost similar to an imperial stout from the sweetness. Light to moderate carbonation. The substantial body with a moderate alcohol makes this a great finishing beer.

Overall, this is a solid regular porters with all of the flavors and feel you would expect. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking to try another porter and like dark beers in general. Maybe not the best porter I've ever had but definitely a good beer and I'll try it again at a later date.

Nice porter of a dark color with some purple on it. Unfortunately, it doesn't make a good foam.Nice smell, full of coffe and some dark chocolate.Taste is similar, with some roasted malts. it begins with the chocolate and then comes a bitter taste with coffe notes.Mouthfeel is the awesome thing here; it's like a liquor and it's delightful. Not much in the body or carbonation, but nevertheless mouthfell is perfect.Another thing I shoud say is, except for the smell, there are some resemblances with wine, quite interesting. (529 characters)

This beer is dirty. The nice and nasty kinda dirty! When poured into a glass I was unable to see any light pass through, even holding it up to the sun. Strong dark smell, strong dark taste. Think dark chocolate with dark burnt coffee with an earthy feel. My wife bought me three 6 packs (18 beers) and I went through them in about a week. My liver hurts... Hurts sooo good! (373 characters)

Amazing! The appearance was dark brown, almost black with a thick coffee colored head. The smell had a great amount of malt with hints of coffee in the nose. The taste was extraordinary with coffee, dark chocolate, and molasses. The sweetness wasn't overpowering though with a mellow malty finish. Highly refreshing and even though it's summer, I found this beer goes great with bbq or any kind of meat. This was a great beer all around. If you're a fan of the dark stuff, this is a great next try. (498 characters)

Sampled last night on 6/6/14. Bottled chilled down to 36 degrees F in my beer cooler and poured into a handled glass stein.

Pours a very deep brown to black in color with a small beige head. Spotty lacing is seen with each sip. The aroma is of chocolate, roasted malts with a hint of coffee. The taste is all of that and more with a hint of caramel, smokey roasted nuts with lots of flavor! Very tasty and goes down easy. A great brew! (436 characters)

The beer poured a deep dark brown to black with a subtle tan head. At that point I allowed it to sit and warm as I knew it would improve. Once I returned I was rewarded with aromas of deep dark chocolate, sweet malts and a hint of coffee. The first taste was a deep roast with full chocolate and coffee that end in a subtle bitterness. The Porter was a velvety smooth and sublime beer that is a porter for all porters to be measured. I was impressed with the depth and fullness of the brew and how quickly it disappeared in my glass. The Founders Porter was one of the best porters I have had and an impressive beer for their year round lineup. (644 characters)